Nuveen LLC Buys New Shares in Griffon Corporation $GFF

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired 309,206 shares of Griffon Corporation, valued at approximately $22.1 million, representing about 0.64% of the company's total stock.
• Griffon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, payable on September 16, which reflects an annualized yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 53.73%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Griffon, with one rating downgrade from "buy" to "hold" and target price adjustments reflecting a consensus average target price of $98.20.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 309,206 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $22,108,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.64% of Griffon at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GFF. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Griffon by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 59,704 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,255,000 after acquiring an additional 4,251 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,720 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,934 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,130 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $13,693,000 after buying an additional 30,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in shares of Griffon by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,620 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,042,000 after buying an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GFF. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Griffon in a report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Griffon from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Griffon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $98.20.

Griffon Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of GFF stock traded up $3.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.63. 395,694 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 537,606. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $75.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.46. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 56.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.09. Griffon Corporation has a 12 month low of $60.97 and a 12 month high of $86.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.58.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The conglomerate reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $613.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.95 million. Griffon had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 144.21%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Griffon Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Griffon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.73%.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides consumer and professional, and home and building products in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Home and Building Products, and Consumer and Professional Products. The Home and Building Products segment manufactures and markets residential and commercial sectional garage doors, rolling steel service doors, fire doors, shutters, steel security grilles, and room dividers for the use in commercial construction and repair, and home remodeling applications.